River Hills Teen Gets ‘Made’ On MTV

River Hills resident Alyssa Sikand appears on the MTV Show made to pursue her dream of becoming a talented hip-hop dancer.

River Hills resident and Tampa Bay Tech Senior Alyssa Sikand didn’t quite know what she was in for when MTV came to her school to recruit students for its show ‘Made’. And, she never imagined she would be selected but, she got the call and in the fall MTV cameras and crew showed up at her school.
Her dream to become trained in hip-hop dance in order to perform in her High School talent competition was granted and she would be receiving formal training and a chance to perform her dream.
Filming took place across more than 118 days. Sikand trained with hip-hop professional Bonita Lovett who was assigned by MTV for daily trainings. She also got a lesson in growing up and had to take responsibility for the extra pressures of the training.
Despite a set back with a knee injury, Sikand never gave up and after 112 days, she entered her school contest and won her school talent competition.
Sikand will graduate this year and has found school a challenge due to learning disabilities including ADHD and Dyslexia. But, that didn’t stop the driven young woman from pursuing her dream.
“This has changed my life,” described Alyssa who is looking forward to finishing high school and currently also works as a child care provider at Kids ‘R’ Kids Circa FishHawk. “I found new friends, learned that I really could achieve my dreams and pushed myself. I am very happy with the experience and glad that I did it.”
Parents Kathy and Bobby couldn’t be prouder of their daughter and are glad she got the opportunity to pursue her dream.
The show aired in December, and is now available online.
Dance instructor Bonita ‘Bgirl Bonita’ Lovett was thrilled with the achievement of her student. She is from Pheonix, Arizona and is a classically trained dancer and choreographer. Bonita performed on Dancing With The Stars and is now a member of the California-based Beat Freaks. She is a hip-hop professional and has worked with P.Diddy, The Black Eyed Peas, Sean Kingston, Rob Base and Doug E. Fresh, she has also been featured in commercials for Nike, Adidas and Sketchers. She now lives in LA.
For more information, visit www.MTV.com. Made is an MTV show about making dreams come true, according to its website. Candidates must be between the ages of 15-22 and applications can be found online.